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2022-09-18
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[ Le Garçon Saigon | 灣仔 ]This is not your average Vietnamese restaurant. No Pho or mixed noodles served here! Only highlights the most important part of Saigon cooking: the grill. Chef John Nguyen was brought up in America but he stays true to his Vietnamese roots with his latest restaurant. After being chef at Chôm Chôm and executive chef at Xuan, he takes on a new role as Head of Vietnamese cuisine for Black Sheep and is stationed in Le Garçon Saigon. He told me how every dish on the menu came
This is not your average Vietnamese restaurant. No Pho or mixed noodles served here! Only highlights the most important part of Saigon cooking: the grill.
Chef John Nguyen was brought up in America but he stays true to his Vietnamese roots with his latest restaurant. After being chef at Chôm Chôm and executive chef at Xuan, he takes on a new role as Head of Vietnamese cuisine for Black Sheep and is stationed in Le Garçon Saigon. He told me how every dish on the menu came from a story from his life and I and so excited to try it.
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Grilled Eel $358 + DIY $88
We ordered this for our main because chef John recommended it. He made this in honor of his father who grew up eating eels in Hanoi. John managed to recreate this by using Hanoi ingredients with the Saigonese grill, effectively blending the North and South.
The eel is dry aged, thus creating a crisp exterior with a satisfying crunch without the grease from frying. The flesh is succulent and meaty and perfectly seasoned. This went great with the pungent pineapple and anchovy sauce based on Mắm nêm. The sauce is quite salty so it is best eaten with the eel in a wrap. But it would be delicious with plain rice due to its richness. The pineapple balances out the saltiness with some sweet and tang. However, the thing that made it unforgettable for me was the toasted peanuts on top. So incredibly nutty and crunchy and just works wonders with the salty, tangy sauce. The glass noodles absorb the sauce so well and were the perfect vessel to transport it onto the wrap.
The DIY platter has vermicelli coated with some scallion oil, pickled carrots & radishes, cucumbers, herbs, and lettuce. Among the herbs are cilantro, Thai basil, mint and rau ram: The ever so fragrant Vietnamese coriander.
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Crispy Eggplant $108
They say this is the best-selling dish of the restaurant but it was my least favourite today (others were phenomenal though). The coating this a bit uneven with some parts thick and others thin. It was probably not served right away as it got a bit soggy and the batter fell apart easily. The sauce though is great. A lovely balance between sweet, spicy, and sour with sweetness as its main flavour profile. The sauce is also not the thick sweet and sour ones in Cantonese cuisine, it is very light and aqueous.
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Butter Sweet Corn $88
This grilled corn is my second favourite tonight (after the eel). The sweetness comes from the plump corn and each kernel is extremely juicy. It is also super buttery but not greasy at all and there is no residue oil on the bottom either. The kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass instantly refreshen it and gives it a more Vietnamese taste. I highly recommend squeezing the lime wedge onto it as it brings out the flavours much more.
A very generous portion too can be shared between 2-4 people.
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Five spice tofu $108
Deceivingly delicious. Braised first so immensely flavorful then fried for that crunchy outside. However, the instead is pale white so you would never expect it to be this flavorful. Loved the crispy lemongrass on top for extra crunch and flavor.
This tastes even better with the pungent pineapple anchovy sauce.
Don’t be fooled by the pale interior of this tofu. It is insanely flavourful. The tofu is first braised in a five-spice sauce before being fried to achieve that crunchy exterior. The contrast between the soft, silky inside and the crisp outside is one of the many reasons I love this tofu. Another is the fried lemongrass on top which gives it extra crunch and isn’t too strong that it makes the dish taste grassy.
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Ca phe Financiar $108
We had to end this delicious meal with a dessert. Financiar is a French almond cake that’s supposed to be light and fluffy and this reimagined Vietnamese version defiantly lives up to it. The coffee flavour is so strong but not bitter. It is even better with condensed milk and it moistens and sweetens it. Just like how normal Vietnamese coffee is served with condensed milk, this coffee cake has to be eaten with that liquid gold to achieve its full potential. The peanuts on top also add an amazing crunch and buttress, giving some umph to all the softness.
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推介 🙆🏻♀️
💬 Overall, loved the innovative food here that focuses on the grill. All the flavours were on point. The service here is also top-notch, exactly what I expect from a Black Sheep restaurant. Even though the menu is quite limited, the options are still quite varied.
🗓 Revisit? ✅⭕️ / ❎
Butter Sweet Corn
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Grilled Eel
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DIY
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Crispy Eggplant
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Five Spice Tofu
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Ca Phe Financier
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Ca Phe Financiar
$108
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